The Manassas blog Republican bad-boys are trying their level best to tie Candidate Deeds into the ACORN scandal. I guess the model is Cooch. (Eye rolling time) Give it up, bad-boys, it won’t work. However, it did start off a vicious circle of following the money.
Both gubernatorial candidates donations seemed to follow some patterns. Tobacco, transportation, health care/physicians and carbon based energy industries seemed to follow McDonnell. Verizon was a heavy contributor but they didn’t seem to follow a party. The pork industry seemed to follow McDonnell. Lots of money has come out of Smithfield, VA… Luters, Smithfield, etc.
The one that totally torqued me was Anthem. It wasn’t who they gave money to but the fact that they were giving away $180,000 to Virginia campaigns. Why? Where is this money coming from (she asks innocently.)? Why are these clowns in a position to donate this much money? Check it out for yourself at www.vpap.org.
Perhaps this is where health care reform should start. Those who insure us need to stop giving away money. If they stopped giving away money, perhaps our premiums would be cheaper. I got no further than Anthem. I was totally disgusted.
Interesting. I wonder how McDonnell is going to wind up on illegal immigration when the pork industry is a big contributor. Last I checked, chicken and pork won’t let their bought and paid for politicians anywhere near their illegal workforce.
You know, though, you’ve got an excellent point! Explain why unions have hundreds of political staff paid for by union dues, and they can’t get health care? Explain why insurance companies are giving huge sums to political campaigns and our premiums keep going up! I think you’ve hit upon another damn good reform idea!! How about a little government by the people for the people and not who can buy and sell politicians.
I totally agree. I see no reason for my health care premiums to go towards any politican.
As for the unions, if I belonged to a union, I would not like it unless it was part of the pac and totally seperate from the dues. Since I am not a member, I will let them sort that out. The closed shop states though at stuck…they have to join the union in order to work. Don’t get me started there either.
I couldn’t figure out why the pork industry was donating so heavily to McDonnell. Luter was in there with big bucks as was Smithfield. I thought about immigration but thought McDonnell at least had a stand on illegal immigration as does Deeds.
I’m not going to look at the donor lists because I don’t want to get upset.
But M-H you were several days ahead of the Washington Post’s front page, wanted to compliment you. Women seem to be losing faith in McDonnell, pun intended. That is the case in my family and in these recent polls. But for all of this talk of extremism, McDonnell is willing to talk like a moderate, which is more than I can say for many of his Republican ilk in Congress. Does he not get points for campaigning as a moderate 20 years after his extreme views were written? I know I have changed since 1989. Does anyone actually think he would turn around and sign an executive order banning birth control and fornication?
As far as women in the work place, that issue is a done deal. They are here to stay and America is better for it. Minor issues between women and men are age old. Men and boys are taught to take on certain responsibilities and assign others to our mothers, sisters, and wives. It weighs on us to have that responsibility. But we accept that. Women’s libbers came along and they want an equal share of that responsibility.
Statistics show that men are happier as a result of women’s lib and women are less happy. You see, there is stress that comes with responsibility. I don’t see why old fashioned types should have to defend a yearning for a simpler day, especially when we have no intention on legislating with that feeling.
I have been very interested in the financial donors of both Creigh Deeds and Bob McDonald. It appears that ACORN no longer provides money directly to candidates, but instead filters the money through labor or similar organizations. It also appears that Deeds has contributions from many more ORGANIZATIONS (labor, law firms, insurance companies) than individuals. Bob McDonald appears to rely more on individuals for donations.
I am trying to find out if either candidate has received funds from Moveon.org.
Kelly, does it concern you that the health care industry is dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into this campaign? It bothers me, especially if the company provides health care coverage like anthem.
Moon-Howler,
Excellent question. WHY are healthcare companies using OUR money to give to politicians. Don’t they get an outrageous enought salary/bonus’s as it is? Why don’t just use their own money out of their own paycheck to contribute!
Since when is “Anthem” a private individual or did I miss something in this thread?
We are not talking about private individuals. I started investigating one thing and bumped into how much the health care industry is investing in elections.
Why would the Dental association want to invest? Anthem? All sorts of associations bankroll elections. Maybe LBH has the right idea. It really is disgusting to look at the industrial ‘support’ of elections.
Right now I am not particularly concerned about it — it appears to be only about 20% of the amount donated by organized labor. Anthem donated the same amount to both parties and in relatively modest amounts — basically chump change compared to the large donors.. If Anthem were donating large amounts to a single candidate, then I might be a little more concerned.
I don’t give a good G-D who they are donating it to. I am concerned that they are taking our money and applying it to politician’s campaigns.
I don’t care how much labor contributes. I don’t belong to a union. Why are they different than a tobacco company or Luters?
Where did that 20% figure come from? Are you including energy related unions that donate to Republican campaigns also?
Golden Rule of Politics – Those who have the gold make the rules.
What concerns me, Poor Richard, is whose gold they have. If I join a union, either by default or choice, I understand that there is a pac. If I pay a health premium, I do not expect one dime of it to go towards a political campaign.
Anthem which is a private company is a subsidiary of Wellpoint which is a public company. I can’t figure any of it out.
“Perhaps this is where health care reform should start. Those who insure us need to stop giving away money. If they stopped giving away money, perhaps our premiums would be cheaper. ”
If you don’t like where your private insurance company is spending money, switch to a different insurance company. I don’t like what Ben and Jerry’s does with money, so I don’t buy their products.
But your principle is sound. If the government would stop giving away our tax dollars to buy votes, perhaps our taxes would be lower.
I don’t take issue with the SEIU donations, It’s the ACORN Workers on the ground that concern Me, I would hate to see McDonnell’s margin of victory cut to 4% because of fraud.
Charles, switching private insurance money isn’t all that easy. That is one of the reasons we need health care reform. How many employers really give people an option? Pre-existing conditions also keep people locked into policies.
PWConservative, where are ACORN workers going door to door? I guess I don’t have a problem with them handing out literature. On the other hand, one would think one would want to distance themselves.
For that matter, what harm are ACORN workers doing to your candidate?
A vote for Deeds is a vote for big labor:
“The donations include $250,000 from the Mid-Atlantic Laborers union, $500,000 from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and $200,000 from the Service Employees International Union.”
No, a vote for Deeds is a vote for a moderate Democrat from down-state.
Big labor. Now what the hell is ‘big labor?’ That any kin to Big Love?
American federation of state, county and municipal employees? Sounds like county and state workers to me, you know, public employees–hardly the hard hats of the labor unions.
So what are we to assume with McDonnell? The pork industry, tobacco industry, carbon based energy companies? Should I say that a vote for McDonnell is a vote for industry that employs illegal aliens? How about coal mining industries and oil companies? I don’t really think that is fair.
How about the Republican governor’s association? They have planted over a million bucks into this campaign…probably because there are only 2 governors races in the United States. We attract a lot of attention.
Of course, this really isn’t the topic, is it, Hello?
Spreading disinformation and lies in Southern PWC and poor neighnborhoods of Fauquier
The reality is you “pick your poison”. For me, big energy, and big business is more dangerous to the average american than labor unions. It wasn’t labor unions that caused our economy to collapse.
The unions helped run the American automakers into the ground, so they did contribute to the economy’s collapse.
Why get angry at the insurance companies when the drug companies have embedded themselves into the Obama Administration for an 80 billion dollar price tax. For 80 billion dollars they get to continue to set prices willy-nilly on the rest of us while reimportation of drugs stays illegal. Compared to that the insurance companies’ lobbying is small potatoes.
But to say all unions contributed to the downfall of the economy is also an unfair statement. There were many reasons for the failure of the auto industries. Management, R & D also helped run the American automakers into the ground also.
I am not a union person but they cannot be blamed for everything.
Rick, the drug companies were gouging Americans long before Obama came into power. I am not sure where you are getting your embedded information. Have you seen what happens with doctors offices and hospitals and the bennies the medical community gets from the drug companies? I think I will get mad at all of them, thank you very much.
“I am not sure where you are getting your embedded information. ”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/health/policy/06insure.html
“White House Affirms Deal On Drug Costs”
In response, the industry successfully demanded that the White House explicitly acknowledge for the first time that it had committed to protect drug makers from bearing further costs in the overhaul. The Obama administration had never spelled out the details of the agreement.
“We were assured: ‘We need somebody to come in first. If you come in first, you will have a rock-solid deal,’ ” Billy Tauzin, the former Republican House member from Louisiana who now leads the pharmaceutical trade group, said Wednesday.
…
The White House commitment to the deal with the drug industry may also irk some of the administration’s Congressional allies who have an eye on drug companies’ profits as they search for ways to pay for the $1 trillion cost of the health legislation.
But failing to publicly confirm Mr. Tauzin’s descriptions of the deal risked alienating a powerful industry ally currently helping to bankroll millions in television commercials in favor of Mr. Obama’s reforms.
…
The drug industry trade group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, also opposes a public insurance plan. But its lobbyists acknowledge privately that they have no intention of fighting it, in part because their agreement with the White House provides them other safeguards.
Mr. Tauzin said the administration had approached him to negotiate. “They wanted a big player to come in and set the bar for everybody else,” he said. He said the White House had directed him to negotiate with Senator Max Baucus, the business-friendly Montana Democrat who leads the Senate Finance Committee.
“Rick, the drug companies were gouging Americans long before Obama came into power.”
And now they are colluding with him to do even more of it.
Elena
Actually it was, I suggest you take Prof Arentz’s class, Economics 103 at George Mason University.
The Unions are directly responsible for much of our woes.
PWConservative, you are kidding, I hope. Didn’t you just graduate from high school? Elena has advanced degrees. I don’t think she needs to take Ec0on 101…ooops, 103.
If Arentz is blaming all of America’s financial woes on labor unions, he should be fired.
No one is saying that unions demands haven’t had a negative influence on the auto industry. Of course they had an impact. However, the unions are not the only problem. Review those notes. Meanwhile, check out the word hubris.
I am not aware of any financial institution unions. Are we going to blame unions for the failure of Lehman Brothers? How about Bear Sterns difficulties?
Thanks PW Conservative, it has been awhile since I was in college for my undergrad. Econ wasn’t required for my master degree. However, as M-H said, no one is suggesting that Unions don’t play some small role in the demise of our auto industry. Having said that, the reason why we could not compete in the world market is because we weren’t making the cars the public was demanding. There was NO leadership from Congress or Bush when the writing was on the wall that people were looking for more mileage and smaller cars. It wasn’t the Unions that were the demise of the Hummer, it was the stark reality that gas guzzling vehicles were no longer a big share of the demand market. Econ 101, supply and demand!
@PWConservative
before I reply, can you elaborate on the “much of our woes” – what woes specifically??
Must have been a drive by….drive by, insult, spout nonsense and leave. I will be interested to see if you get a response, Pat.
PWConservative,
I guess you are busy with your economics class and your professors ideology.
One of our major woes is the financial system woes – when AIG, Citi, Morgan Stanly, Lehman, Bears Sterns, Enron, Global Crossing, etc had issues – where were the union workers that caused the problems? Where were the congressmen demanding that those employees take pay cuts and break contracts – instead, we give AIG employees bonuses because there was a contract in place.
Are the unions to blame for GM and Chryslers failures?? Well, what about Ford – it was bad management and out of control health care costs.
Now, is the unions all good – no, they are not – I have many issues with the unions, but they are like any other bureaucracy, what starts out small and beneficial gets bloated and inefficient over time. But, I will give unions credit for getting Benefits for all workers, including pensions, 401ks and healthcare – if it were up to companies alone, they would not provide average workers with many benefits, and would want more working hours for the same pay.
We force GM into a bankruptcy, and part of the Reorganization is to close dealerships, and the same congressman demanding a bankruptcy of GM to break contracts also demand that they not close dealerships – what do they think bankruptcy means – it means a reorg, that the PGC takes over an underfunded pension plan and creditors are out money.
I would hardly blame the unions for all of our woes – we just have too many woes, that there is enough blame to go around to everyone.